To Do: Find a Friend

I forgot how long it takes to make new friends.  Ugh--too long!

And I figured no one was just going to come ring my doorbell and say "hi, wanna be my friend?" (though I'm optimistic this still could happen since the street is only half built!)

So I'm reaching out of my comfort zone.

Last week Parker and I went to our first Mom's Group outing.  It was just an hour at a nearby park.  He loves to be outside and it was right after nap time.  Let me brag a bit: I had a trophy son :)

This week we ventured to our first storytime.  A storytime geared for kids birth to 18 months.  Score!

Again, Parker was a trophy son.  He laughed and smiled the whole time.  Attention seeker I tell ya!  Who knows--Maybe he too is seeking friends!

Oh I would have loved to taken a picture of his first storytime, but I didn't want to be THAT parent.  Yeah, there was one mother snapping away and she looked a little wackadoodle doing that.  (Funny thing: Her daughter was obsessed with my shoes and I'm pretty sure my shoes made it into every photo).

I always think I'm the only mom desperate for companionship, a friend.  But really, I wonder if the other moms were there for the same reason?  Let's just say yes to make myself feel better.

The cool thing is that there were like 8-10 moms there.  I chatted most of the time with one mom with a 6 month girl and another with a 9 month boy (an adorable Asian boy at that--if you know me, you know my love for Asian babies!)--both of which live in our adjoining subdivision.  I have a feeling we'll see each other again.  (If anything, when our kids enter kindergarten).  This made my day!

I have to admit, it was a funny feeling to be on the other side of storytime.  When I first graduated from college, I had the awesomest job ever!  I got to plan and lead all kinds of activities for families with kids under the age of 5.  Storytime was probably one of my least favorite activities.  Parker will tell you--I have 3 voices--my normal voice, a high pitch one, and a low pitch one.  That's all I got.  So being dramatic wasn't up my alley.

But anytime I was with those kiddos, I loved it.  Just this week as I was unpacking, I came across this photo that one of the mom's had taken (and no, she isn't wackadoodle!) at the end of a storytime.  The kids always got a free book for coming--yes, bribery works!

These kids--going to high school next year.  Eeks!

Oh I wish somedays that I could go back now, after 10-15 years of other experiences, and do those storytimes again.  I may still have to work on my voices, but I have a new understanding of why maybe those parents came--sure, they wanted their child to love books...but maybe too...they just needed a friend for an hour.